Welcome to Glass Slipper! I need someone to stop the Astros from winning another World Series; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

When the 2019 men’s March Madness bracket was released, I looked at the top left and got way more excited than a human should ever be about college kids playing a game. This was the Zion-RJ-Cam-Tre year at Duke, and those guys were powering the top team in the country. Virginia Tech had earned the No. 4 seed in that same region, setting up a potential Sweet 16 clash.

If you don’t remember, Mike Krzyzewski spent that entire season mismanaging his incredible collection of players. The Blue Devils used sheer talent to blast their way to 29 wins nonetheless, and people bought it. They were easily the most popular pick to win it all, and it seemed like everyone at least had them making the Final Four. But I could smell the weakness. There was absolutely no way that team was going to cut down the nets.

On the other hand, I had fallen in love with the Hokies. It was a classic Buzz Williams squad; the kids were passionate, physical, and resilient. I thought it was a nightmare matchup for Duke, and this seemed like a perfect chance for me to pick VT and prove how much I knew about college basketball. I was going to look so smart when the Hokies pulled off the shocker. I would be the lone entrant in my March Madness pool with a bracket that was still intact.

Virginia Tech ended up losing in a heartbreaker. Ahmed Hill missed a wide-open game-tying layup at the buzzer, and Coach K’s team survived. My darling Hokies had impressed the nation like I knew they would, but it wasn’t quite enough.

I tell that entire story to say this; for the first time since the 2019 VT loss, I have the feeling. I can once again see a massive upset on the horizon, and I’m all-in on believing that it’s going to happen. This particular premonition is about a college football game.

On September 14, unranked Kentucky and No. 1 Georgia will meet under the lights in Lexington. The Wildcats are going to stun the college football world that evening. Now, look. The Dawgs have beaten Big Blue 14(!!) straight times, and are 63-12-2 in the series overall. Did I mention that Georgia won back-to-back national titles a moment ago, while Kentucky is a basketball school? I understand that there’s nothing I can really say that is going to sway you over to my side here. But allow me to build the case anyway.

Dominant teams are vulnerable when they get caught looking ahead. After facing the Wildcats, UGA has a bye week and a monumental trip to Tuscaloosa next on the schedule. That contest at Alabama will obviously be among the biggest games of this entire college football season; I can absolutely envision the Dawgs sleepwalking against UK while they’re busy thinking about resting and preparing for the Crimson Tide.

A sound game plan and a great quarterback performance are also key ingredients for springing an upset. I think Mark Stoops is a top-15 coach in America, and he’s quietly taken Kentucky to eight consecutive bowl games. The Wildcats are used to winning, and Stoops will have them ready to go. Why don’t we check who’s starting at quarterback for these guys? And… oh. It’s Brock Vandagriff, a former highly-coveted recruit who just transferred in… from Georgia.

The 22-year-old sat behind Stetson Bennett for two seasons, then watched as Carson Beck stole the job for the Dawgs when it was supposed to finally be his turn. Now Vandagriff - who grew up right next to UGA’s campus - has a golden opportunity for revenge against his hometown team that never gave him a chance to start. This is movie script stuff, and I think our underdog protagonist quarterback is going to get this thing done.

Kentucky 31, Georgia 27. You don’t have to believe me; just refrain from acting surprised when those fans storm the field in Lexington. Come on, Big Blue. Do it for me, and do it for my precious Hokies.

Pressroom

Spin It

“Late Night Talking” by Harry Styles. Let’s all grind through another week together.